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Drip by drip
Though drip irrigation has been hailed a water-efficient method long time ago, small farmers found the required infrastructure expensive. Now a farmer has found a way out, says Kundan Pandey
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Lizard regained
After 135 years, scientists spotted a tiny lizard, Geckoella Jeyporensis that was given up as extinct, in the Eastern Ghats, raising the hopes of all those searching for other extinct species
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Eco saviours
In the Sundarbans, things have turned upside down with women planting trees instead of cutting mangroves and sundari trees. Now they know the importance of their ecosystem, says Saadia Azim
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Colour cotton
Indian scientists have developed coloured cotton with spinnable fibre quality and fairly good yield. But releasing it for commercial cultivation will take some more time, reports Aparna Pallavi
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Herbal touch
By expanding the scope and reach of traditional healthcare system through networking and training, Rashtriya Guni Mission has restored people’s faith in herbal medicines, says Ravleen Kaur
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Organic states
Sikkim is all set to achieve a ‘complete organic agriculture status’ by 2015. Madhusree Chatterjee found proof of it at the Sikkim International Flower Show, 2013, held at the Saramsa Gardens
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Eco is also economy
For Ishita Khanna, ecology and economy are two sides of the same coin. Wowed by the Himalayas, she has been helping the rural people of Spiti in Himachal find a livelihood even as they protect the fragile ecosystem, says Kavita Kanan Chandra
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Rail farms
Mumbai’s lifeline, the railway tracks, is lined with farms. Kate Chaillat and Samrat Mukherjee check out the green tracts, whose produce is good, and they also help keeping encroachers at bay
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Inspiring farmer
R Jeganathan’s organic farm in Pakkam, a village near Chennai, is drawing youth, who wish to take up farming even if it means giving up careers. Farming can be profitable if it is integrated with dairy and poultry, he tells P C Vinoj Kumar
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Green hospital
A hospital in Ahmedabad cheers up its cardiac patients with natural light. Anupam Chakravartty checks out with the architect, Surya Kakani, whose eco-sensitive design has also reduced costs
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Reviving Beri
Essentially a pitcher–shaped shallow well, Beri is a traditional rain water harvesting structure. By reviving it, people in drought-hit villages of Thar even cultivate crops now, says Shehfar
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Power, costly
The government is pressing for an increased generation of renewable energy, but electricity distributing companies are worried about hiking the power tariff for consumers, says Gaurav Sharma
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Educated farmer
A youth, holding degrees in engineering and management from foreign universities, committing to agriculture may sound incredible. But Ashmeet Kapoor has done just that, changing the lives of many farmers in a positive way, says Akash Bisht
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Die not, dye
By reviving the use of natural dyes, Rashmi Bharti enabled communities like Bora Kuthalia and Shauka in Uttarakhand hills to not just conserve a traditional art form but also triggered a local economic revolution, says Kavita Kanan Chandra
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Butterfly chase
Research has helped identify new species of butterflies in India and one of them is ‘Nilgiri Grass Yellow’, says Smetacek, who has brought out a book ‘Butterflies: On the Roof Of the World’
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Pond of fondness
A pond in Lakholaav in Rajasthan not just provides clean water to villagers throughout the year but also binds the local community. Manu Moudgil traces its past and finds its relevance today
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Wild management
Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala was adjudged the best managed protected area in India. Tiasa Adhya finds out from the sanctuary’s deputy director, Sanjayan Kumar, how they earned the accolade
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Winged visitors
Heralding the arrival of winter, migratory birds have started arriving in the wetlands of the Kashmir valley from Siberia, eastern Europe, China and the Philippines, says Sheikh Qayoom
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A joint triumph
In Rajasthan, you may not expect a forest. But what is more surprising is that it is protected by the local community, whose members enjoy the fruits of conservation. Manu Moudgil explains
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Women in farm
That women are at the vanguard of food security for villages is evident from a visit to the tribal district of Koraput in Odisha, says Sarada Lahangir, giving examples of hard working farmers
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Killed for horns
The Indian rhinoceroses are facing the threat of extinction as poachers are targeting the animal for its horn, which is in great demand in east and southeast Asia, says Sanjeeb Baruah